Blood of a Werewolf
by Steffie Black
Summary: Sequel to Memory of a lost Dream. An unknown disease is slowly killing Harry, the only one who can save him is Remus, but noone has seen him for five years. It’s up to Tonks to find him and convince him to come back.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summery: Sequel to Memory of a lost Dream. An unknown disease is slowly killing Harry, the only one who can save him is Remus, but no-one has seen him for five years. It's up to Tonks to find him in time and convince him to come back.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed 'Memory of a lost Dream', I hope you will like this too. I'm turning this in a series of short stories, this is the second part and it will be approximately 5 chapters long I think (but that can change of course, I'm still writing it).

Blood of a werewolf

**Prologue**

It was warm and beautiful day at the beginning of summer, sunny but not too hot, and most people were enjoying this day outside, except for a select group of people who were standing just outside of a room in St. Mungo's. More precisely it was the room in which Harry Potter was lying.

It had been two years since the Boy-Who-Lived had defeated the dark lord Voldemort and during those years, the wizarding world had been rebuilding their world and homes, searching and sometimes finding those who were considered lost, they had also been working on a new and less discriminating society, thanks to Minister of Magic since two years, Kingsley Shacklebolt and his first assistant, Hermione Granger.

Today, both of them were part of the group of people standing outside Harry Potter's room in St. Mungo's, together with all the Weasleys and Luna Lovegood, waiting for the healers to come out of the room and let them know if there was any hope Harry might live.

Apparently, just before Harry defeated Voldemort, the dark lord had succeeded to bring some strange and unknown disease in Harry's system, it was an illness that took two years or even more to show itself clearly, but when it did, it was extremely violent and attacked ones system continuously until it was completely destroyed, obviously it ended in a certain death of its victim.

Finally, a healer exited the room, face grave.

"There is nothing more we can do for him, I'm really sorry." She said sympathetically, looking at the teary faces around her. "There is only one existing cure for this disease, unfortunately it is almost impossible to assemble all the ingredients."

"Nothing is impossible, as long as you believe in the possibilities to achieve the improbable, you can succeed." Luna's dreamy voice interrupted the healer. She was acting rather calm for someone on the verge of losing her boyfriend.

"Luna is right, as long as he is alive we still have a chance. What ingredients are so difficult to find?" Hermione spoke up.

The healer glanced around the group before answering.

"There is only one ingredient that really is a problem to find these days. The potion we need to give him needs werewolf-blood to work."

"And with Umbridge's stunt a few years ago, there are barely any werewolves left in Britain." Kingsley said what everyone was thinking, the healer nodded and answered "Indeed, Minister Shacklebolt."

"But there must still be some werewolves, somewhere, or we could try to find some in France or, I don't know, anywhere." Ron piped up, glancing towards his sister-in-law Fleur, standing next to Bill.

"Ron," chided Hermione, "I don't think it is that easy. Let the healer finish."

The healer nodded to the Minister's First Assistant in thanks and continued her explanation.

"Like Ms. Granger said, it isn't that simple, the blood we use must be compatible with Mr. Potter's blood and to know if the blood is compatible we need to know of which elements exactly the blood is composed, we also have to run certain tests. If we first have to go and find some unknown werewolves of which we don't have any files wherein the exact composition and concentration of their blood is stated, we would first have to analyse the blood before we can run the tests and there is always a high possibility the blood won't be compatible. Anyhow, we would never be able to produce the potion in time."

A long, desperate silence fell between the group until it was broken by Arthur Weasley. "So there is really no chance?"

Suddenly, Hermione's face lit up. "Wait." She directed the healer. "I've read about blood-compatibility like this once." (Ron groaned, but everyone else was listening hopefully) "Isn't there a possibility of knowing for a ninety percent certainty the blood will be compatible, without running the tests?"

All eyes were on the healer again, the woman sighed.

"Yes, that possibility exists, but only if the two people share their blood, by a blood-relationship, does Harry Potter share blood with a werewolf?" Her eyes went over the group and the answer was obvious by the once again downtrodden looks on everyone's faces.

Then Luna's dreamy voice could be heard once again. "People can also share their blood by ancient blood-sharing rituals."

"But those rituals haven't been used for centuries, they can be dangerous and are illegal, Harry never did such a ritual." Hermione exclaimed.

"Harry didn't, but his father did." Everyone looked up to Ginny, it was the first time she had spoken since they had come here. She took a breath and went on. "Harry told me this short after Sirius died, it was a secret and he asked me to never tell anyone." Ron and Hermione looked incredulously at her, since when did Harry tell her something he didn't tell them. Ginny answered their unasked question. "You two were so caught up in each other during that time and Harry needed someone to listen. Anyway, like I said, this used to be another well kept secret of the Marauders, Sirius told Harry this once. Apparently, the Marauders did such a dangerous blood-sharing ritual while they were at Hogwarts, to bring them closer than they already were."

Ron looked confused. "What has that to do with anything anyway?"

Hermione however understood where Ginny was going to. "The Marauders shared their blood, and the blood-sharing went over to Harry through his father." The others still had a puzzled look on their face. "ALL the Marauders. Remus Lupin."

"That might work indeed," commented the healer.

Finally understanding dawned on their faces, but their hope was immediately crushed again when Kingsley spoke. "Remus hasn't been seen or heard of for five years. Nobody knows where he might be or even if he is still alive."

Once again, it was Luna whose dreamy voice was there to give them hope again. "Those who travel far and long might know much without telling anyone and those who keep searching will eventually find."

Everyone stared at her, until Charlie said, "I know Hagrid has been travelling a lot these years, I've seen him a couple of times in Romania and Fleur, didn't you say you came across him in France once?"

"Yesz, and we 'ave also seen 'im during our 'oneymoon in Greece, haven't we Bill?" Fleur glanced towards her husband, Bill nodded.

"Let's ask Hagrid then, he is now back at Hogwarts isn't he?" asked Ron.

Fred, who was responsible for the Hogsmeade division of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, nodded. "I think so, I've seen him a few times the last two weeks, but I think he's planning for another trip soon."

"Alright, I'm going to talk to him tomorrow." Ron answered.

"Wait." As the minister spoke, everyone grew quiet and turned towards him.

"I think Tonks should go talk to him." The others looked a bit puzzled.

"Tonks has kept searching for Remus for the last two years, when everyone else had long given up. If anyone can find him, I think it will be her, if Hagrid gives her a clue about where to look. I'll go talk to her right away."

The other members of the group nodded and Kingsley left the hospital immediately and headed towards the office of Nymphadora Tonks, Wizarding Private Detective.


	2. Hagrid's Tale

Disclaimer: everything belongs to J. K. Rowling of course.

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 1: Hagrid's Tale**

Nymphadora Tonks was sitting in her chair in her office, or actually, she was partially hanging in her chair and partially hanging on the table before her, while she was looking in the mirror before her and changing her appearances over and over to find one that sufficiently reflected her mood for today.

_It still sounds great_, she thought to herself, _Wizarding Private Detective Tonks. _

She had started her office a few years ago, when she had resigned her job at the Ministry in protest to the inhuman laws of Umbridge. At first it was just a job to have a bit of money until she could return to the Ministry, but things had changed a great deal since then.

_They have practically begged me to return as an Auror, with the great lack of Aurors they have since the end of the war, but this job pays a lot better, I can decide to take a day off or a vacation whenever I want and I can chose which job I take._

After the war against Voldemort had ended, she had received many requests of people searching for lost family members, lovers or friends or lost family heirlooms that were taken by Death Eaters. She was one of the few real wizarding privet detectives and she was definitely the only one with such good contacts inside the Ministry. _Which is not that hard, seeing as I'm friends with the Minister himself. _This had earned her a lot of clients and a lot of experience. She had made herself a name.

A knock sounded on the door of her office before it opened quickly and the Minister of Magic entered.

"Wotcher, Kingsley, what brings you here?"

"We need your help, Tonks, and we may have a clue about Remus Lupin's whereabouts."

Kingsley knew this would be the best way to catch her full attention and it had obviously worked. When he had entered, she kept hanging in her chair and she let her gaze wandering between his face, her desk and her mirror, but upon hearing that one name, Tonks instantly sat upright in her chair and focused her gaze on the minister's face.

Kingsley explained to her what had happened to Harry, why they needed Remus and their suspicions about Hagrid. Tonks had instantly jumped out of her chair and closed her office for the rest of the day: she wanted to go to Hogwarts immediately.

The Minister left her to her activities after assuring her that if she needed any help, she only had to ask for it, but she probably hadn't heard him saying that anyway, busy as she was with running around her office getting her things together and meanwhile toppling over several objects scattered across the floor.

000

A few hours later, Tonks apparated just outside the gates of Hogwarts and headed straight for Hagrid's hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, replaying what Kingsley had told her over in her head and cursing Hagrid all the while.

_All this time he might have had an idea where Remus is and he never told me. He knew I was searching for Remus but he didn't say a word, he simply ignored it. How could he do that, bastard. I will make him pay. Unless he agrees to help me right away, then I might spare him._

Tonks was still seething when she knocked, or rather banged on Hagrid's door. The half-giant was perplexed upon finding a very angry looking Nymphadora Tonks on his doorstep.

"Hello Tonks, what's bringin' yeh here?"

"Wotcher Hagrid. There's something important I need to talk about with you."

Hagrid stepped aside and allowed her into the hut, offering her a seat and tea, Tonks took the time to calm down a bit before confronting him. When they had settled down, Tonks came straight to the point.

"Hagrid, do you know where I can find Remus Lupin?"

Hagrid stared at her for a moment before answering. "Wha' makes yeh think that?"

"It doesn't matter, but let me tell you what does matter, if we don't find him soon, Harry Potter will die."

The half-giant looked thoroughly shocked by this revelation and the only answer he was able to formulate was "How?" Tonks proceeded to relate to him what had happened to Harry, when she was finished, Hagrid was almost in tears.

Tonks repeated her question about the whereabouts of Remus but it took some time before Hagrid had collected himself enough to formulate a coherent answer and it wasn't the answer Tonks had hoped for.

"I don't know where Remus is, but I might know someone who does."

"Who?"

"Firenze."

"And where can I find him?"

"'m not sure, last time I've seen 'im was in Romania."

Now it was Tonks who was staring at Hagrid. "In Romania? Please tell me what is going on Hagrid, 'cause I don't understand anything of this."

"It's a long story actually, 't all started five years ago. I know you were busy with startin' yer own business an' worryin' about Remus, but he wasn't the only one who was affected by Umbridge's laws. I had to go too an' I also had to bring my little bother in safety. Firenze came with me, poor feller couldn't go back to ter other centaurs in the Forest an' he couldn't stay 'ere at Hogwarts either. We first travelled to Romania to find a place for Grawp, we planned to go to Greece after that, yeh can find there ter biggest population of centaurs and Firenze hoped to start over there. But we stayed longer in Romania than we thought, the end of the war was comin' an' Dumbledore called me back 'ere. Thought Firenze had gone to Greece after I left 'im, but when I went to search for 'im there he never arrived. Last time I went to visit Grawp, Firenze came by to say hello, he told me he had seen Remus a few weeks earlier, but that was two years ago. Haven't heard anythin' since then, but I figure it's possible they're both still there."

When Hagrid had finished his story, Tonks was shocked and embarrassed at the same time. She hadn't thought about the fact Hagrid had been in danger too back then and she felt slightly guilty for not thinking about him. _It's like Hagrid said, I was too caught up with my worries about Remus to think about Umbridge's other victims._

But more than that, she was shocked about what Hagrid had told her. _Romania? Remus had gone to Romania?_ _What the hell did he think to find there? Why couldn't he stay a little more close to home?_ Silently she cursed herself for not thinking about the possibility that he might have sought refuge somewhere further away where Umbridge's laws couldn't strike him. _Some detective I am, I've been far and wide for my clients, but in my personal search I managed to forget there's a whole world outside of Britain. _

Needless to say, Tonks took some time to collect herself and speak again. Finally she said, "Hagrid, I'm really sorry, I hadn't thought about what that toad and her crap did to you and your brother."

"'s a'right Tonks, I'm back at Hogwarts an' Grawp has 'is own little cave in Romania now."

"Well then, I still need to find Remus. Do you think you can help me?"

"Don't know, I can bring yeh near Grawps cave, seems a good place to start lookin' to me."

Tonks frowned slightly. "I suppose that's a start then. But I prefer to go on my own, if you don't mind, I have my ways to work and travel fast. Having another person with me would slow me down and we don't have too much time left. Could you just tell me where I can find your brother's cave?"

Hagrid gave her a detailed description of the surroundings of the cave and how to find it, he also provided her with a map of the area in Romania where she would go and he gave his opinion as to where and how she could possibly find Firenze. It was not much, less than she had hoped for, but more than she did have the past two years. _I only hope I can find Firenze fairly quick and even more importantly, that he knows where Remus can be found._

A little time later, Tonks said her goodbyes to Hagrid and returned to her flat to prepare herself, she would leave for Romania the next morning.

000

_Please Review…_

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this and the prequel.

A/N: I'm sorry if the accent of Hagrid is horribly done, I'm very bad at accents.

A/N2:In the next chapter things finally start happening.


	3. The Ukrainian Ironbelly

Disclaimer: A few night ago, I dreamt I was marrying Remus, so now he is MINE!...Unfortunately, that was just a dream, so I suppose everything still belongs to J.K.Rowling, even Remus (sob).

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 2: The Ukrainian Ironbelly**

It was a cold night, too cold for June actually, but it wasn't that unusual this deep in the forest. The large trees didn't really let the warmth of the sun reach under the majestic sea of green which was formed by the treetops and when the night fell, there was never any warmth of day to break through the cold of night. Luckily, the trees also protected against the worst cold, caused by the wind blowing freely over the treetops.

After living in these woods for five years, Remus Lupin knew all the advantages and disadvantages that came with living in this forest. He knew where he could easily find fresh water and food and where to find dead wood to make a fire. He also knew how the trees provided shelter against wind, sun and rain but not the cold, and whenever he had to leave his house at night, he made sure to wear warm clothes, even during summertime.

This night, Remus didn't really have a reason to leave his house, or rather, the hut he had found five years ago and turned into his home since then. Remus didn't even know why exactly he was going into the forest, he just felt like taking a walk, for some reason.

_Not like anything really happens around here, since nobody ever comes this deep in the woods. _

Remus had to admit it was rather lonesome, living here hidden away from everyone who might be looking for him, but he figured it was better like this.

_At least I'm sure I can't hurt anyone here. _

His eyes drifted towards a clearing in the top of the trees, where the waxing moon peaked through.

_Five days until the full moon._

He kept walking through the trees for some time, not really paying attention to where he was going, letting his thoughts roam freely.

_It's really peaceful, it could actually be a nice place to make a home, if only it wasn't so lonely. _

He shook his head to clear it. _I shouldn't be thinking like this, it's a good thing no-one knows where I am. Besides, who would ever want to live a life hidden away from the world in a forest together with an old werewolf like me? _

An image of Nymphadora Tonks appeared in his mind but he pushed it away quickly.

_I'm starting to repeat myself, I need to find something else to think about, before I go crazy, it's not like she would come to find me after all this time anyway. She wouldn't even know where to look, no-one would. Or would they?_

A thought had suddenly struck him, something he had totally forgotten about, until now.

A few years ago, Remus had wandered further away from his hut than he normally did and he had wandered into a part of the forest where he had never been before. He had been very surprised to come across Firenze, who had apparently been living there at the time. They had talked a bit then, both glad to find a familiar face after a long time of being alone. They had shared their stories and Firenze had told Remus about Grawp living not far away in a cave just outside the woods, the centaur was thinking about visiting Grawp occasionally and maybe meeting Hagrid there. That had been the only occasion Remus had ever heard something about home again.

_Home, I can barely grasp the concept now, has it really been five years? It seems like an eternity now._

He had never thought about that day again and he had never seen Firenze again either.

_But why am I thinking about it now?_

Somehow, that question seemed to be answered when Remus entered a clearing between the trees. In the middle of this clearing stood Firenze, watching the skies above, but turning his gaze towards Remus as he approached.

"Goodnight, Remus. Orion and Venus are exceptionally bright tonight."

Remus glanced upwards but didn't see a noticeable difference with other nights.

"If you say so. It's been a long time since I've last seen you, Firenze." _And I wonder what you are doing here_, Remus mentally added. He came often to this clearing but had never seen the centaur there before.

Firenze's eyes bored themselves into Remus' eyes, but he didn't answer. He merely returned to watching the stars a moment later. A long silence stretched itself between them and Remus started to feel uncomfortable, he couldn't shake of the feeling that Firenze was up to something. _Get a grip, Moony, he's only being his mysterious self._

Finally, he couldn't stand the silence anymore and decided to ask the question he had been asking silently in his head from the moment he had seen Firenze in the clearing.

"What brings you here, if I might ask?"

Firenze turned to gaze at Remus again and took some time before finally speaking again.

"Sorrowful things are happening elsewhere, you might be needed. Hiding might not help you anymore, the things you hide from could follow you when you least expect them to."

For a long moment, werewolf and centaur stood staring at each other, until Remus recovered enough to form an answer, although the only thing he could think of was, "Come again?"

Firenze smiled slightly. "Goodnight, Remus Lupin, we will see each other again." The next moment, Firenze disappeared through the trees.

Remus stood standing there for another long moment, staring at the place where the centaur had disappeared. When he finally recovered from the initial shock Firenze's appearance had brought, he slowly returned to his hut, storing away the night's occurrences to think about later, when he had had some time to let them sink in.

000

On the top of a small hill, Nymphadora Tonks was looking out over the country around her. Everywhere she looked, she could see hills rising out of the country, some of them existed only out of rocks, others were sporting trees and bushes, a river meandered between the hills and reflected the sunlight brightly. In the distance she could see a large forest.

She had been travelling through Romania for two days now and she was finally approaching Grawps cave, at least, she hoped she was. Hagrid's map was far from clear to her, the proportions weren't right and it contained strange details that didn't tell her much. _A rock in the shape of the tail of a blast-ended screwt, who would not get lost with directions like this? _

Tonks sighed, she had just admitted that she was lost, how could she ever find Remus in time now? After pondering this for some time, she decided to head towards the forest, recalling Hagrid had said something about a forest.

She had been walking again for almost an hour when a loud roar reached her ears. Instinctively, she drew her wand while spinning around, ready to face whatever had come after her. When she saw the danger she was in, however, she stood shocked for a moment.

Before her stood a very large dragon.

_More like enormous, how am I going to get past this one? _

The dragon was indeed enormous, it had long talons, its scales, which were a metallic grey colour, were glittering in the sun, its red eyes glaring down at Tonks while little wisps of smoke escaped out of his nose. It was an Ukrainian Ironbelly, the largest dragon breed currently existing.

_Great, why does this sort of things always happen to me at the most unfortunate times, not that situations like this are ever fortunate, come to think of._

Tonks slowly took a few steps back, thinking back to her Auror-training, trying to find out how to get out of this situation with all of her body intact. The dragon advanced on her, taking a step towards her for every step she took, but his steps were a tad larger than hers, it slowly bent its neck and brought its head down, ready to strike.

When the dragon opened his jaws, Tonks jumped aside and ducked behind a tree just in time to avoid them, she shot a stunner but it had no effect, one person alone couldn't stun a dragon. A moment later did the tree behind which she was hiding burst into flames. The Ironbelly looked irate now, larger wisps of smoke escaped out of his nose, it roared again and slashed with its talons towards Tonks.

The dragon started to advance again and this time Tonks saw no place to hide. She took a few steps backwards and glanced around her, looking for a new hiding place. Her eyes fell onto some rocks with a dark hole in it, almost invisible for someone who is not looking for it.

_A small cave and it might be big enough for me, if only I can reach it. _

She quickly looked back towards the dragon, still glaring at her menacingly and slowly advancing, it seemed to know she couldn't escape anyway.

Tonks quickly spun around and took a mad dash at the cave. Unfortunately, halfway towards the cave, a few loose pieces of rocks were lying around, probably broken off of the larger group where the cave was situated. While dashing towards the cave, Tonks wasn't really watching her feet and one of her them hooked behind one of the pieces of rock. She fell to the ground with a smack while her ankle made a loud cracking noise, accompanied by a searing pain shooting through it.

_Broken ankle, why must I be such a damn klutz._

The dragon was still advancing, she could almost see every scale on his hide.

_I've been an Auror and Order-member, fighting Death-Eaters for years and I survived the war, and now I'm going to be defeated by a dragon, how ironic is that._

The dragon lowered its head again and opened its jaws, Tonks could easily count his teeth if she wanted to. As she closed her eyes, only one thought crossed her mind.

_This is the end._

000

_Please Review…_

The more reviews, the faster I write, which means sooner update and release from this evil cliffie (please don't hurt me, I felt like writing a cliffie)

A/N: I found the information on the Ukrainian Ironbelly on HP-Lexicon.

Thanks to my reviewers.


	4. The Bleeding Calf

Disclaimer: I still own nothing (although that one dream was really realistic...).

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 3: The Bleeding Calf**

_From last chapter_: The dragon lowered its head again and opened its jaws, Tonks closed her eyes. _This is the end._

Tonks felt the hot breath from the Ironbelly blazing over her face, its shadow darkened the sun and when she peaked through her mostly closed eyelids, she saw the dragon bending down over her, jaws opened, ready to strike.

Suddenly, she heard voices shouting. Tonks opened her eyes to see the dragon getting hit with different spells, mostly stunners. The dragon stood tall again and turned towards its attackers, but the next moment it wavered and started to fall. _It's going to fall on me and crush me, just fantastic._ Another fire of spells hit the dragon, this time to levitate it and keep it from falling on the woman that was nearly lying under it. While the dragon was levitated away from her, two strong arms grabbed her and helped her stand, while a familiar voice asked, "All right, Tonks?"

Tonks spun around quickly. "Charlie? What are you doing here?" Charlie Weasley stood beside her, holding her up by her arms while she stood only on her right foot.

"Apparently saving your life."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

Charlie smiled, a moment later his smile turned into a slight frown. "This Ironbelly escaped out of the Reserve last night and we had some difficulties finding it. This shouldn't have happened."

He tried to let go of Tonks, but when she put down her left foot, she winced and almost fell again. Charlie quickly grabbed her again. Tonks smiled weakly. "Thanks. I think I broke my ankle."

"I'll take you to the Reserve, we have a small hospital and I'm sure one of the healers can fix you up. What are _you_ doing here actually?"

"Hagrid told me Remus should be here, somewhere, at least, that's what he thinks."

"Alright. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital right away and you'll be ready to resume your search in no time."

000

The healers healed her ankle right away, but Tonks had to stay in the hospital for two whole days, to her great dismay. The healers wanted to keep her even longer actually, but after moping around the two days she had been there and threatening the healers on various occasions and in various inventive ways, they let her go the morning of the third day after she arrived.

Charlie had been visiting her twice every day and she was grateful for his support. They had known each other since Hogwarts and had always been good friends and when one is lying in a hospital far away from home, it is really nice to see a familiar face.

When she was finally released, Charlie brought her back to the place where he had found her. He offered to accompany her for the rest of her journey, but Tonks declined the offer, claiming she rather worked alone. The truth was, however, that she wanted to be alone with Remus, if she would ever find him.

_When I find him, I can't give up hope now, I've never been closer. But still, I suppose the chances are slim. Even more so since I have only seven days left to bring him back in time to save Harry. Stupid healers wanted to keep me there. _For the umpteenth time in the last two and a half days she cursed the healers of the Reserve in a lot of colorful ways.

After Charlie had left and returned to the Reserve, Tonks had resumed her journey, still trying to make some sense of Hagrid's map. During her stay in the Reserve, she had tried to ask directions to a few people working there, but nobody was able to help her. Apparently she wasn't the only one having trouble deciphering Hagrid's map.

During her stay in the Reserve, the weather had changed unfortunately. When she had first arrived in Romania, the sun had been shining all day and no clouds could be seen. Today however, the sun was completely hidden behind dark clouds and although it wasn't raining yet, it probably wouldn't take long before the rain would come.

A few hours later, Tonks found she could barely see where she put her feet. _Which means it's extra dangerous for me, seeing how often I place them wrong when I actually _can_ see them. _Two hours ago the rain had started steadily falling and eve more clouds had darkened the sky, and although it was too soon for the sun to set, it was already as dark as during the night, even darker because there were no moon or stars visible.

The rain didn't really bother Tonks, she had put a rain-repelling charm on her and at first she didn't really care about the darkness either, her wand gave enough light. But now it was almost too dark for her wand to give enough light and she was getting gradually more tired of walking in the rain.

When she saw a small inn appear a little further down the road she was following, lying in front of a very small village, she decided to rest there for a few hours and eat something. _Something hot, I hope they have soup. _

Before she reached the building, she quickly released the charms to keep her dry and extinguished her wand. _It's probably a Muggle place and I better not make myself suspicious by entering completely dry in the middle of a rainstorm. _

Tonks finally reached the inn, thoroughly wet now, and quickly entered it, but not without catching a glimpse of the name of the inn. _The Bleeding Calf, what kind of name is that? _As she entered,a wave of warmth engulfed her.

She seated herself at a small table in the corner from where she could oversee the whole place. There weren't much other people and the few other people present were eyeing her suspiciously. _I suppose they don't have many strangers visiting here, it's the only village in the vicinity._

The bartender approached her and Tonks asked him if she could get some soup, while thinking at the same time he probably didn't even speak English, but to her surprise he did, although with a heavy accent. "We don't have soup." When asked for food he answered he didn't serve food now, and he didn't have hot cocoa, tea or coffee either, so Tonks settled on hot milk with honey.

After the bartender had served her, she let her surroundings sink in. On the other side of the room she could see a few men sitting, talking quietly among themselves and glancing towards her from time to time, Tonks tried to ignore them, although they made her feel slightly unsettled. Closer to her were two older men sitting at a table, they too were eyeing her a bit suspiciously, but the glances they were giving her were at least less menacing. A younger man, around her age, was sitting at the bar, talking quietly to the bartender, but after a short time he got up, approached Tonks and joined her at her table. He too spoke English with a heavy accent.

"I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but we'd like to know what you are doing here, miss."

Tonks lifted her eyebrows. "I don't see why that would be any of your business and joining someone uninvited is considered rude."

The man seemed unfazed by her response. "I'm sorry, miss, but I just wanted to warn you. This is Transylvania, awful things can happen here to people who don't know how to protect themselves, dangerous creatures considered legendary live here. You shouldn't stay."

Tonks didn't know if she should laugh or be offended, but decided against both, considering this guy was a Muggle and those Muggles would probably be suspicious if she had the wrong reaction.

_If they only knew I'm a witch, looking for a werewolf, a centaur and a giant, I wonder what they would say. _

Tonks eyed the man before her carefully, before finally formulating an answer. "I can take care of myself, but thanks for the advice." It occurred suddenly to her that everyone else in the inn was listening to their conversation. _What's going on here? _

"It's getting late, miss, I think you should go," the man, still sitting at her table, was talking again. Tonks had to force herself to not roll her eyes.

"Actually, I was hoping I could stay the night here." She did no effort to keep her voice low and the other occupants didn't try to hide the fact they had been listening in on the conversation, because now the bartender answered.

"I'm sorry miss, but we have no free rooms, I suggest you return to were you come from."

Tonks was getting angry now. _How dare they tell me where to go to._ "I'm not going back sir, I have a reason for being in Transylvania, but if I can't stay the night here, I suppose I'll have to go camp somewhere outside."

A silence fell in the inn, the other occupants seemed to be waiting for her to leave, Tonks decided she could just as well do that. _Not the most hospitable people here, the opposite from the Reserve, it seems like I'm falling in extremes here. _She stood up and made to leave, when one of the older men, sitting at the table nearby spoke.

"We can't let her stay outside, it's too dangerous."

"We warned her," came the answer of the bartender.

Tonks headed for the door, inwardly shaking her head. _Never met such a bunch of lunatics at one place, not counting Death Eaters of course._

Just as she reached the door, the old men spoke to her. "Wherever you're going, don't leave the road and don't enter the forest, girl." His companion supplied, "it's a full moon in three days, beware the moon, miss."

Tonks rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep from laughing. _Yes, I know that's almost the full moon, I'm actually _looking_ for a werewolf._ She quickly exited the inn and walked out of the lights shining through the windows, far enough for her to use magic without being noticed. There she re-established the rain-repelling spell and dried herself, before continuing her journey.

As she walked away from the inn, however, she didn't see a small group exit the inn, nor did she notice them following her.

000

A/N: For the inn 'The Bleeding Calf' and the scene in the inn I was inspired by the movie 'An American Werewolf in London' and the pub 'The Slaughtered Lamb.'

Thanks to all my reviewers...

_Please review..._


	5. Vastatore

Disclaimer: I still own nothing (and dreaming about it doesn't seem to help me for some strange reason…)

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 4: Vastatore**

Two days had passed since that night when Remus had come across Firenze. Two days in which Remus found himself regularly thinking back at what the centaur had said to him, whatever it might mean.

_That's the whole point, I have no clue as to what he actually tried to tell me. _

Remus had tried to think about something else but none-the-less found himself repeating Firenze's words over and over in his head.

Sorrowful things are happening elsewhere…_Yes, that's the exact reason why I'm living here in the middle of nowhere, so why would he tell me that. _

The things you hide from could follow you when and whereyou least expect them to…_What is that supposed to mean, I somehow doubt Umbridge and her ridiculous laws will follow me here._

A nagging voice in Remus' head however told him Umbridge wasn't the only thing he was hiding for, but he quickly silenced that voice. Instead he started weeding the little vegetable garden he had started three years ago with seeds and roots he had found in the forest.

Working had been the best way to distract his thoughts, but for some reason today it didn't work like it was supposed to. Soon, Remus found his thoughts drifting towards a certain Metamorphmagus, wondering what she was doing these days. _Probably working or having fun with some friends. _He could still exactly remember how much fun one could have when Nymphadora Tonks was nearby and for a moment he allowed himself to get lost in his reminiscing.

After a moment, Remus shook his head and sighed. _I should stop doing this to myself, I won't see her again and this is not making it any easier._ He idly wondered why his thoughts seemed to drift towards her a lot more often during the last two days.

_It is kind of strange, it's not like she could have anything to do with what Firenze said._

The things you hide from could follow you when you least expect them to…

Remus quickly shook his head. _That's ridiculous, I'm not hiding from Tonks, why should I. I actually wish she would come and find me._ A frown appeared on his face as he realised that wasn't entirely true, if he had wanted her to find him, he could have easily tried to contact her or anyone, but he hadn't, even Dumbledore had probably no clue as to where he was.

_Alright, maybe I'm hiding from her, just like I'm hiding from everyone else. _

A voice in his head replied with, _but Tonks isn't everyone else. Why should you hide from her? _He tried to silence that voice again, but it insisted. _You're hiding because you're afraid, afraid she might reject you and afraid she might accept you._

Remus shook his head hard. _I'm arguing with a voice in my head that doesn't make any sense, I'm think I'm finally going crazy._

He returned to his gardening, but the voice tried one more time to get trough to him. _Firenze might have meant Tonks._ Remus finally silenced the voice firmly. _He can't have meant her, that's only wishful thinking._ This time the voice kept silent.

000

Tonks had been walking in the rain for another two hours when it finally stopped. Relieved she lifted the spells to keep her dry before she continued. The clouds cleared a bit and she could see her surroundings more clearly. _Good, now I might even see it when I pass a cave or a couple rocks that could hide a cave._

After another hour, she still hadn't found Grawps cave and she decided to look for a place to spend the night, since it was slowly getting dark now. At the side of the road were a few trees where she could set up her tent out of sight, she shrugged of her backpack and moved to get her tent out when she was stopped by a voice.

"Excuse us miss, but we would like to have a word with you."

Tonks flipped around quickly and recognised the same group of men who had been at the inn, whispering among themselves. _About me_, she realised now. Instinctively, she reached for her wand in the inside pocket of the Muggle jacket she was wearing. The same man who had spoken before, obviously the leader, stopped her.

"Kindly leave your wand where it is, we only want to talk."

Tonks looked stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered, not saying anything. _How did he know I'm a witch? They must be wizards. What could they want?_

"You're probably wondering how I know you are a witch? The way you acted in the inn was kind of obvious, you weren't in the least surprised by what those Muggles told you, any Muggle tourist would laugh at them. Besides, Muggle tourists don't come here and definitely not alone." Tonks didn't reply, so the man continued. "You said you could protect yourself, miss, but even for a very skilled witch or wizard is this area very dangerous. We thought it would be a good idea to offer you our company and protection."

"Thanks for the offer but I don't need your protection, I'm sure I can take care of myself." _And if I couldn't, I wouldn't want your help anyway. I don't trust these men at all._

The men standing in front of her seemed to get irritated by her decline. The leader pressed on. "You said you have a reason for being here? If you are looking for something, we could help you, we know Transylvania very well."

_Damn, why do I have such a big mouth. For all I know they could be working for Umbridge._

After Voldemort had been defeated and the war had ended three years ago, the public had found out that Umbridge had not only been executing so-called Dark Creatures without any real reason, but she also had sent many people to Azkaban for helping Dark Creatures. _It's actually almost a miracle that they didn't arrest me. _

Word had also leaked out that she was in league with Voldemort, although it was never proven. Umbridge had been forced to quit her post as minister, but ever since then, she had been trying to regain power, together with Fudge, who had been minister before her. A few weeks ago, Tonks had even heard some rumours about the both of them reassembling the last free Death Eaters and preparing for a new war.

_It seems a bit far-fetched, but one can never be careful enough... Damn, after all these years, Moody is still rubbing off on me. _

"My business here is none of _your_ business and I don't have the time for discussing it with complete strangers."

"Excuse us for our rudeness, miss. I'm Michael Vastatore, this are my brothers Graham and David Vastatore and our friends Jack Didit, Ben Guylt and Al Summers."

_Vastatore…_Tonks recognised that name and it made an alarm bell go off in her head. _Vastatore…Where have I heard that name before?_ A memory came up in her mind.

_It was Christmas Holidays and many members of the Order had come together at Grimmauld place, the Weasleys were there and so were Harry and Hermione. Arthur had just returned from St. Mungo's after being injured during his guard duty. Tonks had been sitting in the parlor, talking with Bill and Charlie, all the while sneaking glances in Remus' direction, who was talking with Sirius and Arthur. Suddenly, Kingsley had entered and Tonks could immediately tell something was wrong by the look in his eyes._

"_You never believe what Fudge and Umbridge are up to now. An extra Order meeting has been called together this evening, but I thought it best to let you know beforehand. They are planning on asking the Vastatore-brothers to work for the Ministry, to 'help ensuring the safety of the people'." A silence fell through the parlor. Tonks looked around her and noticed Remus' face had become even paler than it had been moments before. _

"_But don't we have the Aurors to ensure safety?" Bill had asked. Kingsley nodded, "I somehow don't believe that's their real reason and Dumbledore agrees with me."_

"_Why?" Tonks had asked. It was Sirius who answered, talking in an unnaturally quiet voice for him, Tonks noticed he had paled too. "Because the Vastatore-family are notorious werewolf-hunters and they are probably in league with Voldemort too." A heavy silence fell in the parlor and all eyes turned momentarily to Remus. He was the first to break it. "They are probably after me, Umbridge knows I'm close to Dumbledore." The next silence was even heavier than the last if that was possible, until it became almost unbearable and Tonks had decided to speak up. "We won't let anything happen to you, Remus." Her voice was soft but resolute and for a moment she wondered if it was really her who had spoken. The next moment, she met Remus' eyes, he had a small, grateful smile on his lips, Tonks felt her heart skip a beat. At that moment, Molly called out for them from the kitchen, dinner was ready. _

Tonks clearly remembered that day, it was the first time she saw something close to fear in Remus' eyes. A few days later she had asked Sirius more about the Vastatore-family and he had told her they were known for the cruel, slow, torturous ways in which they killed their victims.

_Werewolf-hunters…Damn, could things become even worse? How can I ever get rid of them in time _and_ find Remus while making sure _they_ can't find him?_

Michael Vastatore was still speaking. "We don't want to impose, miss, but there _are_ dangerous creatures living in this area, we are only offering our help and protection during your mission." However, something in his voice made Tonks realise she didn't have much say in the matter, they weren't planning on leaving her alone. _But I'm not going to let them follow me without a fight._

"It's a very generous offer, Mr. Vastatore, but I'm afraid I must decline. As I said, I don't have much time and I think you might slow me down, besides, I am well capable of protecting myself, I have worked several years as a Ministry Auror at home." Tonks tried her best to keep up a friendly façade, but she felt she would start to fail soon if they didn't leave.

However, Michael Vastatore's friendly mask started to fade too and a face filled with anger and malice started to shine through, Tonks did involuntarily a few steps backwards. The next moment, the men who were introduced to her as David Vastatore and Jack Didit were standing at her side, pinning her arms down next to her and making sure she couldn't escape their grip, Graham Vastatore had pulled out a wand and aimed it in her direction.

"As you can see, it is not a wise idea to oppose us, miss. After all, you are travelling through our domain, it's not officially ours, but we claim it none the less." The rest of the group laughed maliciously at Michael's last words. "I must say you have been acting rude towards us, while I believe we have been perfect gentlemen. We told us our names and presented you a generous offer, but you declined it, you are searching for something in our land without our permission, who knows what precious things you seek, and on top of it, you haven't even told us your name." His voice stayed calm all the time, but in his eyes Tonks could see a dangerous fire burning.

"What shall we do with her?" Graham asked, still pointing the wand at her.

"We have to find out who she is and what she is doing here, maybe we could use her as bait during the next full moon." Tonks felt her eyes widen and her mouth becoming dry. _They won't…_One look around the group however told her they would indeed.

"You can't do that, it's against the laws and people will come looking for me, my friends know where I am."

"Ah, but you forget one thing, girl, since our good friend Dolores Umbridge has lost her power, we have become kind of outlaws too, one little crime more or less won't really make a difference."

Meanwhile, the last two men, Ben Guylt and Al Summers, had been going through the stuff in her backpack, trying to find some information about her, Ben stood and approached Michael, he was holding a small book in his hands. _Oh, no, not my diary…It isn't only personal, it also contains the exact information they are probably looking for._

Jack gave the diary to Michael, who opened it and leaved through it quickly. "So, your name is Nymphadora Tonks, lovely name." Tonks glared furiously, but kept silent.

"Good, tie her up, we'll spend the night here, I will go through this tomorrow and we can decide what to do with her after that."

The men who had been holding her pulled out wands and with a few spells she had ropes bound around her wrists and ankles, they picked her up and made her sit with her back against a tree, with another few whispered words ropes were around her waist and the tree. The two men cast a last glance at her and Tonks saw a hunger burning in their eyes that made her feel nauseous, then they joined their friends who were making a fire and preparing some food.

_Before they'll use me as bait, they will probably use me for something else. How is it that I get into such a mess when I'm this close to finally finding Remus. Fate must really hate me._

000

A/N: The name Vastatore comes from the Latin word 'vastator', which means destroyer or exterminator.

Thanks to all my reviewers…

_Please review…_


	6. Grawp

Disclaimer: I still own nothing…

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 5: Grawp**

Night had fallen over the improvised camping-place. The werewolf-hunters were sleeping, even the one who was supposed to stand guard had finally dozed off. Tonks, however, refused to sleep. She was still tightly tied up against the tree, but now the others were all sleeping, she could finally attempt to escape.

While her captivators had been eating and laughing around a fire, she had used her time to think about a way to escape. At last, some sort of plan had formed itself in her mind.

There was something Vastatore and his gang didn't know about her, something that could maybe save her now. Tonks closed her eyes and concentrated on morphing her arms a little bit thinner.

Morphing some other part of her body besides her face was not easy and she couldn't make her arms that much thinner, but it was just enough to slip her arms out of the ropes. From there it was easy to untie herself completely. _Being a metamorphmagus has its advantages. Now I only have to grab my stuff together and get away from here._

That was obviously the hardest part, she had never been good at stealth, being clumsy as she was.

Quietly, she approached the sleeping men and succeeded in grabbing her backpack, luckily, her wand was lying next to it and she put it safely in her pocket. As she straightened and turned around, however, she found the guard stirring and slowly waking up again, quickly she dashed towards the trees. _I hope I can get away far enough before he wakes up_ _completely_ _and warns his companions that I'm gone._

Tonks stayed near the edge of the forest, not coming out of the trees out of fear of being captured again but staying close to the edge because otherwise she would never find Grawps' cave. She had been walking for several hours and was getting tired, but she didn't dare to rest, in case the Vastatore's were following her trail. The sky was getting lighter, dawn would come soon. _That's not good, I'm not far enough, they will find me more easily by daylight._

When the sun had come up, Tonks discovered a small cave, hidden from prying eyes. _I don't think they will find me here and I really need to rest a few hours. _

Going through her backpack for her sleeping mat, she realised with horror something was missing. _Damn, that bastard still has my diary, how could I have been so stupid. _For a moment she thought about going back and trying to retrieve it without being captured again. That thought was quickly dismissed and Tonks decided to get some sleep, the situation she was in could wait a few hours.

000

Apparently, the situation could not wait.

Two hours after Tonks had fallen asleep in the cave, she was roughly awaken by two men pulling her up by her arms and out of the cave. It took Tonks only a moment to recognise the two youngest Vastatore-brothers.

"So, you thought you could escape us, girl," taunted the one she thought was named Graham.

"You should have known better. As a British Auror, I'm sure you have heard of us before, you should have realised we are good at tracking," continued his brother David.

They dragged her outside, where the rest of the group werewolf-hunters stood waiting. One of them quickly bound her hands again, but the brothers didn't let go of her afterwards. _They don't want me to escape again, I probably won't get another chance to._

Michael Vastatore had a furious look on his face.

"How dare you defy us in such a way. If you had cooperated from the beginning, we would have spared you, but I think I will let my boys do with you whatever pleases them and when the full moon rises you can take part in a little game we like to play."

While the man was speaking, Tonks noticed at least three of the others watching her, their eyes gazing up and down over her body, she started to feel nauseous again at the thought of what they obviously were thinking.

As the word 'game' was spoken, however, they all glanced towards their boss, and Tonks followed their gaze. A maniacal grin had spread across Michael Vastatore's face. _Whatever he's up to, it's definitely not good._

"Let me explain this little game to you, miss Tonks. Do you know much about ancient Roman customs?" He didn't seem to expect an answer, because he immediately continued. "The Roman emperors used to say, to keep the people happy, they only needed bread and games. I very much believe they were right, wouldn't you agree?"

Tonks had no idea where he was going to, _but I certainly don't like it and I doubt I will when I find out._

"The Roman people were very happy with the games they could watch in the amphitheatre. Those games have always intrigued me a lot, unfortunately, they aren't allowed anymore now, because according to modern people, they were barbaric. I, however, think some of them are really interesting, which is why I will be organizing one in two nights and you, my dear, have the privilege to be a part of the show. I'm sorry I can't accommodate for the proper surroundings, the forest will have to do."

"Now, in Roman times, they had roughly two types of games, one was a man to man battle to death, the other was man to beast, again, to death. Man to man battle is something we have seen enough during the war a few years earlier, man to beast, however, isn't something that occurs often these days. Let me explain to you what exactly your part in the show will be. During the full moon, you can get the part of man, well, technically woman, but that doesn't really matter, no magic is allowed and you will be armed with a silver sword. Your opposite will be whichever werewolf that picks up your scent and comes after you. I'm sure we will all enjoy the show very much and of course, we hope you will win."

The other werewolf-hunters were laughing hard, together with their leader. Tonks felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, her lungs seemed cramped shut together with the rest of her body and everything inside of her ached all of a sudden. She had never in her life been this afraid, not even during the final battle against Voldemort. _That's probably because I wasn't in a situation where I would have to kill an innocent person to survive. Kill or die. I wonder if this is how Harry felt. No, he didn't have to kill an innocent stranger, Harry was fighting against a mad murderer. _

Tonks lifted her head and realised her capturers held very satisfied smirks on their faces. _They can see I'm afraid and that's exactly what they want. I have to show them they can't break me, I have to say something._

She said the first thing that came to her mind. "You are monsters."

The smirks faded and changed into scowls. "You're wrong, girl, we hunt monsters."

Tonks spitted at him. "I'm sure any werewolf is a lot more human than you will ever be."

Michael Vastatore slapped her in the face, his face red in rage. "Gag her, we'll see tomorrow if her tongue will be equally sharp when she had time to think about this."

A few moments later, Tonks was dragged away, bound and gagged, without having any idea where they were headed to and no prospect whatsoever on escaping, as she was constantly watched by at least two hunters.

_How am I ever going to find Remus now? _As the thought came to her, she stiffened and her eyes widened. _Remus, there is a likely chance he will be in these woods and if he catches on to my scent…_She didn't dare to finish that thought and it felt as if the horror of the situation she was in struck her all over again. _Oh no…Remus…_

000

The hours passed slowly, as the werewolf-hunters dragged Tonks with them towards wherever their destination was. _How can time pass too slowly and too fast at the same time?_

Tonks had been considering her situation, repeating Vastatore's words in her mind over and over, thinking about every possible chance there could be for her to escape, but it was no use. She was constantly being watched, they had put anti-apparition spells on her, put a silencing charm on her and gagged her. _Why they did that, I have no clue, probably to humiliate me more._

They had taken her wand away and she figured running wouldn't work either. _Maybe I can try to escape when the full moon is out, they won't have me tied up if they won't me to swordfight. _

But she realised it wouldn't matter, they would keep an eye on her at all time and she couldn't forget there were also werewolves, if she escaped from the hunters, she wouldn't have her wand with her to protect herself against them. _I'll have a silver sword though…_

Tonks inwardly shook her head, horrified at her own thoughts. No! _That's exactly what they want, whatever happens, I'm not goingto kill any werewolf._ Tonks hung her head and sighed, there was nothing she could do but hope she was killed quick._ Somehow, that's not a very comforting thought. I'm sorry Harry, for not being able to save you. _Thoughts of Remus pushed their way to her mind but she pushed them away, they were too painful.

Her train of thought was suddenly broken by a strange roar.

_Another dragon? _

The sound was heard again and her capturers were looking around them, bewildered.

_That doesn't sound like a dragon, it almost sounds like a voice…_

The men around her were reaching for their wands and preparing themselves for a fight. One of them, Ben Guylt, she thought, approached her and undid her gag and silencing charm. He whispered a quick 'here' and handed her her wand, before quickly turning away from her.

Suddenly an enormous figure appeared before them, blocking away the sunlight and casting a giant shadow.

_Giant? It's a Giant! _Tonks saw the hunters were gazing up at the giant in shock. _I can understand what they are feeling. Since when are there Giants in this part of Romania, I thought they lived more in the northern regions._

She glanced up towards the Giants face and suddenly realization struck her. _Grawp, of course, Hagrid said he lived here somewhere, why didn't I think of that earlier? Maybe he could help._

Tonks almost laughed at herself at that. _Sure, why would he help, Giants don't save damsels in distress, he'll probably kill me together with those bastards. _

By now, Grawp had already knocked out two of the men, they were lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Michael Vastatore was dangling high above the ground, while Grawp was holding him between his thump and index finger, studying him and glancing towards the others on the ground. The three other hunters were still casting spells at the Giant, but none of their spells seemed to have much effect, they couldn't do more than cause a little bit irritation to the Giant.

Grawp did seem to get irritated indeed by the curses flying at him non-stop, he dropped Vastatore to turn towards his attackers, the man was narrowly saved by the cushioning charm cast by one of his companions.

While the commotion was going, Tonks tried to rid herself from her bonds, but didn't succeed in the least. The only effect her struggling seemed to have, was Grawp now focusing on her. His enormous hand shot towards her and picked her up of the ground, Tonks was sure this would be the end. _Strange, I seem to think that a lot lately. _But to her amazement, Grawp put her down carefully in the palm of his hand and studied her intently. After a few moments and to her great astonishment, he started speaking, sort of.

"F'wiend Hag'id?" Tonks stared at the Giant, whose face was hovering a little above her. Grawp repeated his question. "F'wiend Hag'id? Tonk?"

_Grawp recognizes me, it's unbelievable._

"Yes, I'm Hagrid's friend Tonks, that's right. Nice to see you again, Grawp." Her voice was high and trembling. _Was that really my voice?_

Grawp glanced towards the men on the ground, three of them still firing curses to the Giant, Grawp directed another question to Tonks.

"Bad men hu'tin' Tonk?"

Tonks nodded, her throat constricting as relief flooded through her. _He _did_ come to rescue me._

"Yes, Grawp, those bad men did hurt me."

"G'awp help Tonk."

The next moment, Tonks felt herself carefully lifted towards the Giants shoulder, where he put her down while he focused on the hunters again, with a quick sweep of his hand, he lifted them up in the air and dropped them a little further. Without so much as a glance back, Grawp turned his back to the unconscious men and headed in the direction he had come from.

_Again, I have no idea where we're headed, but for some strange reason I'm feeling much more safe with this Giant than with those werewolf-hunters. Fate can be very strange. Oh well, I'll see where I am when I get there. At least I'm sort of free again and maybe even a step closer to finding Remus, since Grawp is probably taking me to his cave._

000

_Please review…_

Thanks to all my reviewers…


	7. Firenze

Disclaimer: I still own nothing (although I keep having dreams about Remus...)

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 6: Firenze**

Hours had passed since Grawp had taken Tonks to his cave. Grawps' cave, to Tonks' amazement, was situated very close near the escape route she had taken while running from the Vastatore's. It made her wonder for a moment why she hadn't found the place then, but Tonks soon concluded it was too well hidden from sight for her to see and there was also the little fact she had been running for her life and didn't have the time for sightseeing.

When they had arrived at the cave, Grawp managed to communicate he went out again, to find some food, but first he had brought Tonks to a large bed made of leaves, indicating she should rest until he was back.

_Strange to have an actual conversation with a Giant, Hagrid managed to teach him well, but I know he had help from Hermione, that could have made the difference of course._

For the first few hours, Tonks had slept peacefully on the improvised giant bed, but then she had woken up and couldn't get back to sleep again. Grawp still hadn't returned and Tonks was starting to feel restless. Suddenly the light in the cave darkened as Grawp entered. _Finally._

Grawp offered Tonks a handful of berries, _handful of his hand, that is, I could eat a whole week of those_, Tonks thought. They ate in silence for a while but when they were finished, Grawp tried to make conversation again. _He seems to like being able to talk to people._

"Wha' Tonk here?"

_Huh? _Tonks looked confused towards the Giant.

"Wha' Tonk here?"

_Is he asking why I'm here or what I'm doing here? _She mentally shook her head. _Not that there's many difference._

"I'm looking for Remus Lupin, do you know him?"

Grawp seemed to think for a moment, before nodding his head.

"Do you know where he is?"

This time, the Giant shook his head in the negative.

Tonks bit her lip, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Do you know where Firenze might be?"

Grawp smiled. "Fir'ze come here."

Tonks lifted her eyebrows. "Does Firenze come here often?"

Grawp frowned. _Apparently not, but what did he mean then, maybe..._

"Does Firenze come here sometimes?"

Grawps smiled and nodded.

"But I suppose you can't predict when he will come."

Grawp nodded again and Tonks sighed.

"Grawp, I have to find Firenze and I don't have much time left."

Grawp nodded. "Grawp help, but firs sleep." He indicated the entrance of the cave, where darkness had fallen outside.

Tonks sighed again. _Well, I suppose I don't have much choice. Spent the night here and get help from Grawp or go on my own without any help and risking those hunters will find me again. _She shuddered and decided staying with Grawp seemed definitely the best option.

_All right. Let's get some sleep then and we can rise at dawn and resume my mission._

000

The next morning, as she had planned, Tonks woke up at dawn. However, that was probably the only part of the plan she wasn't forced to change. When she came fully awake, Tonks immediately noticed something was missing, or rather, someone. Grawp was gone. _It's hard not to notice when there's a Giant missing._

Two hours passed by very slowly, Tonks used the time to impatiently pace around the cave. She was starting to get hungry, but there was no food. _My food supply was in my backpack, and I didn't have the chance to get it back from those hunters. Now I think about it, I can't even change clothes until I'm home. Great. _With a sigh she sat down on a rock on the ground for a moment, before a realization hit her. _Damn, they still have my diary too. _Tonks stood again and returned to her pacing. _Where could Grawp have gone?_

Finally, after a little more than two hours, Grawp appeared again, bringing some food with him and, to Tonks' surprise, with Firenze in tow.

Grawp offered Tonks some food, which she accepted gratefully, Firenze didn't waste any time and immediately directed Tonks.

"Miss Tonks, when I came across Grawp this morning, he told me you were staying with him tonight and wanted to meet me?"

"Yes, I'm actually looking for Remus Lupin, Hagrid told me that you might know where I can find him."

Firenze gazed towards Tonks for a long time, seemingly in thought.

"I'm afraid cannot tell you where to find Remus Lupin."

Tonks frowned at the centaur. "But Hagrid said you had seen him once in this forest. You must have an idea as to where he might be."

"I didn't say I don't know where he is, I said I cannot tell you."

Tonks glared at Firenze. "I have no time for your riddles, this is important, Firenze."

"I know of the importance of your mission, but Remus Lupin had decided to hide in this forest to make sure no one would be able to find him, I cannot give away his location without his permission."

Tonks stared at him for a moment. _Remus doesn't want to be found. Why didn't you think of that possibility earlier? What do I have to do now? _For a moment, she thought desperation would overcome her, but it immediately turned into anger, and the only one to direct that anger at was Firenze.

"It doesn't matter if he wants to be found or not, I have to find him and if you won't help me, I'm going to go looking for him myself, no matter how wide this forest is." Tonks' voice rose gradually while speaking, and the calm look the centaur was giving her only infuriated her more.

Firenze's answer was calm as ever. "I'm sorry." _He doesn't look sorry in the least, _Tonks thought. "If you really want to find him, I can bring you to a place where he often takes a walk when the night falls, but since tonight is the full moon, you will have to wait until the day after tomorrow before I can take you, the night after a full moon he won't come outside anyway. If the stars are with you, he will be there when I take you."

Tonks and Firenze stared at each other for a moment. Tonks wanted nothing more than to yell at the centaur and demand him to take her to Remus right away, but she realised she wouldn't get anywhere with her anger.

After a few minutes of silence, Firenze nodded towards Tonks. "I'll see you soon." A moment later the centaur left abruptly, Tonks followed him out of the cave, but he had already disappeared in the forest.

For about an hour, Tonks sat in Grawps cave, brooding over what Firenze had said and trying to figure out what was the best course of action.

_Common sense says: wait until Firenze comes back._

_Rest of me says: don't mind Firenze and go look for Remus now._

_Common sense is mostly right._

_But when did I ever listen to common sense, leave that to people like Hermione._

That settled it. Tonks quickly thanked Grawp and before he could realise what she was doing and stop her, she left the cave and headed into the forest.

_I hope I find Remus soon. Preferably before moonrise._

000

The hours had passed quickly while Tonks was making her way through the forest. It wasn't as easy as she had hoped, the trees and shrubs were growing very close together. It was very hard to see any possible tracks and the dim light made it even harder. _How am I ever going to find Remus here, or even my way back out of this, maybe it had been a better idea to wait for Firenze._

Tonks noticed suddenly it had steadily grown darker and she lighted her wand when she realised she couldn't see where she was going anymore. She threw a quick glance at her watch and stopped abruptly, checking her watch again.

_The sun has set already. I didn't realise so much time had passed, how is this possible?_

Carefully, she took another few steps, deeper into the woods, trying not to stumble too much. After a few minutes however, something made her stop again. Somewhere in the distance, a mournful howl sounded. Tonks grew rigid, she felt cold shivers run all over her body, her breathing and heartbeat quickened. _How stupid can you be, Tonks. How exactly do you plan to escape a werewolf in here? _

Tonks drew a few deep breaths to calm down and give herself the chance to think about a solution to this new problem. An annoying voice in her head kept bothering her, repeating over and over: _Should have listened to Firenze, why do you always think you know better than someone else. _

_Shut up,_ She thought to the voice, _this isn't helping. _

After a few moments to try and calm her racing heart, she tried to make her way through the trees as quietly as possible. She had been debating if she should extinguish her wand, but if she did so, she wouldn't see where she was walking and probably fall and break something. _With the light of my wand, I might be able to find a safe place to hide before he finds me. Hopefully._

An hour or two passed. Tonks had heard a few howls after the first, but they had sounded far away and had quieted down some time ago. That had given her some hope, but the fact she hadn't found any place to hide had greatly dampened that hope.

Suddenly, Tonks heard a sound in the trees right after her and she stiffened, listening intently. It had only been a rustling through leaves, but that could have been anything, just the wind, or an animal or… There was a moment of silence and Tonks wanted to take a breath in relief, but just the same moment, another sound reached her ears. It was coming from where she had heard the rustling and it chilled her to the bone. A low growling came from right behind her, growing gradually louder and more savage.

Slowly, Tonks turned around, while she was racking her brain trying to find a way out of this predicament and finding nothing. As she turned, she came eye to eye with the creature standing before her, still growling, and it took her only a second to recognize it from her Defence against the Dark Arts lessons at Hogwarts. _Well, I _was _looking for a werewolf_, she thought wryly for a second, before she turned again and tried to run, knowing she wouldn't be able to escape, because at the moment she had turned around again, the werewolf was getting ready to leap on her. Nevertheless, Tonks started running as fast as she could, more trying to buy time then to really escape. It took the werewolf only a few moments to catch up with her, and the next moment, Tonks found herself lying on the ground, pinned down by a werewolf. He was growling and probably ready to bite down, for the umpteenth time in less than a week time, Tonks was sure her end was near.

Suddenly, the weight on her back was roughly removed and Tonks heard the werewolf give a yelp of pain, followed by the sounds of breaking twigs and rustling leafs, as if something was running away through the trees. _What the hell is happening here?_

A moment later, she felt a hand touching her shoulder, followed by a soft voice. "Get up Miss Tonks."

_Firenze?_ In her panic, Tonks had failed to hear the sound of hooves that had come running in her direction. Tonks did as instructed and soon faced the centaur, but as she tried to speak, he interrupted her.

"I managed to surprise him and chase him away, but it's not easy to keep a werewolf from his prey, so he might come back, we have to get out of here. Did he hurt you?"

Tonks quickly checked herself and was relieved to find no wounds. "No, I'm alright, thanks for saving me." She felt herself heating up in embarrassment. _I have an Auror license and I fought and survived the war, but I'm stupid enough to get myself attacked by a werewolf and then I've got to be saved by a centaur. Can this become even more embarrassing?_

Firenze stared at her for a moment, and though his face looked calm, his voice sounded icy. "Why couldn't you wait with Grawp, Miss Tonks? You would have spared us from this and I would have come and get you soon enough." Tonks didn't answer and they started walking.

After a few moments, Tonks gathered her courage to direct a question to the obviously angry centaur. "Where are we going?"

A curt 'Somewhere where you are safe' was the only answer she got.

The both of them fell silent again and they kept walking like that through the darkness of the forest for a long time, until they reached a small clearing between the trees. While they had been walking, Tonks sometimesheard some howls, but they sounded far away.

When they finally stopped walking, Firenze spoke again. "This clearing is charmed and you will be safe here, it is one of the places where I take shelter to rest. You should rest now. At dawn I will help you find Remus, he will probably need some medical attention now."

Only now, realization struck Tonks. "That was Remus."

She had only whispered the words, but Firenze had heard her and replied with a curt 'yes', although Tonks had already known that by now.

Silently, she turned away from the centaur and sat down against a tree, tears were starting to gather in her eyes. _How could I have been so stupid, I _knew _he was here somewhere and I _knew _it was a full moon tonight. What if Firenze hadn't come in time to save me? I would probably have been dead. _

Tears streamed steadily down her cheeks at the images that filled her mind. Her torn apart by the werewolf, Remus waking up in morning, near her own torn body. _If that had happened, it would have completely destroyed him. I know he can't bare the thought of what he could do to the people he cares about during the full moon. Sirius once told me that was one of the main reasons why Remus almost always kept his distance from other people. Merlin, how could I have been so stupid. _With these thoughts in mind, Tonks slipped away into a restless slumber.

000

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Thanks to all my reviewers…


	8. Remus

Disclaimer: I still own nothing (but I'm still having dreams about Remus, my sister says it's not normal, is it…?)

A/N: The chapter for which you've all been waiting for, and extra long too, I'm very proud of it actually, so let me know what you think.

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 7: Remus**

The next morning, at dawn, Tonks was suddenly pulled from her slumber by Firenze, who was shaking her lightly. He offered her a handful of berries as breakfast and soon the both of them were on their way, searching for Remus.

_I hope we find him soon. _

Tonks couldn't help feeling very worried about him, lying somewhere in the forest, wounded and alone. _And naked, Merlin, I have to see him naked. _Her face flushed for a moment, but it subsided soon as she reminded herself of the fact that he would be hurt and probably unconscious.

Tonks had no idea how she had to find Remus, but luckily for her, Firenze seemed to know. It took them a little more than an hour, but finally they reached another small clearing, although a little larger than the one where Firenze had taken her the night before, and there Remus was.

He was lying near the opposite edge of the clearing, on his side, with his back to her. But even in that position could she see he was unconscious and when she approached him, she could see he was bleeding from a deep gash in his back.

Tonks crossed the distance between them at a run and knelt beside him. The wound in his back was bleeding profusely, and she didn't dare to roll him over, so she had to walk around him to see his front and when she saw him, she couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her mouth.

He was bleeding form several more wounds, on his face, his arms and his chest, but what was even worse, was the purple-blue colored spot on the right side of his chest and the odd angle in which his right arm lay. _Obviously broken, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a broken rib too. _

New tears started to form in her eyes, but she stopped herself quickly and started to check over his wounds more closely, to see how bad they were, she had never seen him in a state as bad as this before. Luckily, most wounds weren't as bad as they seemed, the worst thing was probably the broken arm. _Luckily he has no broken ribs after all, only bruised, which is actually bad enough. _

Tonks tore her cloak to long pieces and used them to carefully wrap around his chest, to prevent dirt entering his wounds. Then she looked up to Firenze, who had approached them and stood now watching from a distance. "What now? I can't properly tend to his wounds here, I need water to clean them and a clean place for him to lie on."

"I'll bring you to his house, follow me."

Tonks quickly conjured a stretcher, carefully levitated Remus on it and again followed Firenze, leading her through the forest.

With the stretcher to carefully manoeuvre through the trees, it took them another hour to find Remus' hut. Tonks was astonished as to how he could live in this place for years and she wondered again why he never came back, but there were more important things to do right now.

After Tonks had carefully placed Remus on his bed, Firenze showed her where she could find fresh water. Then, the centaur bade her good day and left her alone with a still unconscious Remus.

Tonks spent the next three hours with cleaning out his wounds and trying to set his arm. _Luckily, because of my clumsiness, my mother insisted I learned a lot of basic healing spells._ When she was finished, she searched his hut for some clothes, found some pyjamas and made sure he was properly dressed. _I'm sure he wouldn't be happy to wake up naked with me staring down at him. Come to think of, I'm not really sure he will even be happy to see me here. _

Having finally completely finished with making him look presentable, Tonks took some time to study Remus. It had after all been five years since she hadseen him last.

_He has gotten a lot more grey hairs during these years. And he is even thinner than he used to be, doesn't he eat? It must be hard to find some decent food here. I hope I can convince him to come back, not only for Harry or even me, but for his own sake. _

Tonks softly brushed some stray hairs from Remus' forehead and smiled. _It might have been five years, but one thing hasn't changed, he still looks gorgeous. _

She was suddenly pulled out of her musings when Remus stirred and started to wake up.

000

He was drifting through darkness, but slowly approaching a light in the distance.

As he slowly came to consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the softness he was lying on, it stood in sharp contrast from the hard ground on which he usually woke up after his transformations.

The next thing he noticed was the scent that reached his nose. A sweet scent, the scent of strawberries, but slightly different from the ones growing near his hut. Sweeter than real strawberries.

_Her _scent.

_But that's not possible. _

He wanted to shake his head to clear it, but that was when his brain and body fully connected again and the pain of his wounds fully hit him. He groaned. It was worse then usual, much worse. What had happened last night?

Suddenly, something soft, cool and wet touched his forehead.

_A cloth. _

He felt very confused. Who could be here?

And then he heard her voice, softly murmuring reassuring words. His heart skipped a beat.

_It couldn't be true, she couldn't be here. _

Finally, Remus found the strength to open his eyes, and looked back into the gentle gaze of Nymphadora Tonks. He tried to speak, but she put a finger on his lips.

Only then he noticed he was lying on his left side and he attempted to roll on his back, but Tonks stopped him with a gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Don't, you have a deep gash on your back and it's better if you don't put pressure on it," she said softly.

He stared at her and it took some time before her words really sunk in into his brain, which was clouded by both the pain and her intoxicating scent. He simply couldn't believe she was really here and he wanted to reach out and touch her, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Since he was lying on his left side, he tried to move his right arm, but a shooting pain coursed through his arm and he closed his eyes and winced.

He opened his eyes again when he felt her fingertips brushing over his forehead and sliding down his cheek.

"You have broken your right arm, I tried to mend it, but I'm afraid I'm not as good as madam Pomfrey." She smiled at him.

Her fingers were still caressing his face and her scent still filled his nose. He had longed to feel her touch and have her scent intoxicating him for so long that he couldn't stop the soft moan escaping his lips. He was glad she mistook it for a moan out of pain.

Tonks kept caressing his face, carefully avoiding the fresh cuts and murmuring words of comfort and reassurance. Remus felt his eyes droop. He was so tired and it had been so long since anyone had taken care of him like this. But he didn't want to sleep, not now Tonks was here, she could be gone when he woke up again.

"Sleep, I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

Reassured by her words, Remus sunk away in a deep sleep.

000

Tonks was worried. When Remus had woken up, she had noticed he was running a fever and he had seemed a bit delirious, but she had no idea how to bring his temperature down again. He had obviously been in pain too and she didn't have any painkilling potions to give him. The only thing she could do was to wait for him to wake up again.

Meanwhile, she decided to take a look around the hut and in what seemed to be his vegetable garden. Maybe she could find some food to prepare for when he woke up again.

_That reminds me of something, the only thing I've eaten during the last two days were some berries, maybe Remus has some other kind of food here, I would certainly appreciate that._

000

Remus only woke up the next morning, when his fever had disappeared again. Tonks had been regularly checking over his wounds and replacing the bandages and by the time he woke up again, most of the smaller wounds had were almost healed and only the gash on his back, his bruised ribs and broken arm could still bother him. _And they probably will, a lot. __It's definitely a good thing werewolves heal fast. _

When Remus woke up and saw Tonks, he looked surprised, relieved, confused and alarmed at the same time, but he didn't ask questions, at least not immediately.

Tonks helped him carefully sit up and helped him eat his breakfast. For a moment, he had looked like he wanted to refuse her help, but when the movement of sitting up proved to be very painful, he was forced to accept her help and didn't protest any further.

Eating proved to be tiring and when he was finished, Remus lay down again, but he refused to go to sleep again. Instead, he started talking, finally bringing up the questions that had been burning in his mind since he had first woken up to Tonks' then bright blue eyes (now, they were a soft hazel).

"Tonks, you're really here."

"Of course, if you hadn't figured that out already, I'd think you'd suffered some brain damage too."

Remus smiled. _She hasn't changed a thing, it's so good to talk to her again._

"When I first woke up, I thought you were only a dream induced by the fever. Tell me, how did you get here? How did you find me?"

"I got some help from Hagrid, Grawp and Firenze."

Remus nodded, he had figured as much.

"Do you know what happened during the full moon? I've never been as bad as this time afterwards since I'm here."

Tonks looked uncomfortable. _Has to pick the hard ones, doesn't he? _

"I'll tell you later, alright? You should get some rest now."

Remus frowned. "Tonks," he warned, but she shook her head.

"It's a long story that goes together with why I'm here and how I got here. I promise I'll tell you after you had some rest." _Although I'd rather not tell you at all. I know you're going to take it rather hard, even though nothing really happened._

They stared at each other for a moment and finally Remus nodded, he was tired after all, there was nothing wrong with first sleeping before hearing an apparently long explanation.

_But what could have happened to make it that long though?_ For a moment, he tried fighting the sleep that was overtaking him so he could ask her that question, but the next moment he felt himself drifting away again.

_I guess I'll have to find out later._

000

It was very late in the evening when he woke up again, it was already dark outside and the small hut was only lit by the light of the waning moon, falling through the only window.

Remus glanced around looking for Tonks and for a moment he feared he had only dreamed her there, taking care of him. But then her sweet scent reached his nose and he spotted her figureslumped in his only chair, if it wasn't for his werewolf-senses he wouldn't be able to see her at all in the dim light. Apparently she had fallen asleep while watching over him and he wondered how long it had been since she had last had a good night sleep.

_For that matter, how long has she actually been here?_

He watched her for a long time, content by the simple fact he could watch her. _After all, it has been five years since I've last seen her and I have to make the most of the time she is here. Whatever might be the reason, she won't stay forever._

After an hour or something of watching her, he realised he was hungry and attempted sitting up. It worked out better than the last time he was awake, but his ribs were still sore and he couldn't use his arm. Standing up proved to be a lot more difficult, as soon as he stood on his feet, a wave of dizziness hit him and he almost fell down to the ground, he let himself fall back to the bed then. The bed groaned under his sudden weight and the noise woke up Tonks, who immediately came to his side.

Tonks checked over his remaining wounds quickly and provided them with some late dinner next (or early breakfast, depending on ones point of view), they ate in silence. After they had finished eating, Remus decided it was finally time to have some answers.

"Are you going to tell me now what has brought you here, Nymphadora?"

"Tonks, Remus, I would think you would at least remember that." Tonks rolled her eyes and Remus smiled. Despite some awkward silences at first, they had so easily fallen back into their usual friendly banter it seemed almost like it hadn't been five years and it felt good. _I could get used to this. _

Remus inwardly shook his head. _I can't, it would be best if she left as soon as possible._

Sensing his change in mood, Tonks launched herself in her story quickly, before things could get awkward again.

"…and since Harry doesn't have much time left, I tried to find you as soon as I could."

Remus had listened carefully to her story and felt many different emotions course through him.

Relief that the war was over but guilt because he hadn't been there to fight alongside his friends.

Surprise at Kingsley being the new Minister of magic and gratefulness for the changes he had made.

But to his own surprise, the most prominent emotion was disappointment. He was disappointed because Tonks had come only to save Harry. _I'm a fool for still hoping for something I can't have after all this time. _He tried to compose himself before he spoke, but he couldn't keep the slight bitterness out of his voice.

"Well, that explains why you're here."

He hadn't meant for her to hear it, but apparently she had caught onto his emotions, or she could read his thoughts, but he doubted that.

"Don't be stupid, Remus, I've been looking for you for years, but I didn't have a clue about your whereabouts until a week or so ago, when I threatened Hagrid into telling me."

Remus felt his heart skip a beat, but ignored it. "I didn't want to be found and for good reason. It's safer for everyone if I live far away from society."

"Nonsense, you could be perfectly safe with the Wolfsbane Potion, you've done so at Grimmauld place for two years without any incident." She tried to sound firm, but Remus didn't miss how her voice sounded a little bit higher than normal or the slight tremble in it. He narrowed his eyes.

"What happened during the last full moon?"

She didn't answer and he felt fear coming over him.

"What happened, Nymphadora?"

"It's Tonks." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Remus closed his eyes and tried his hardest to stay calm, but it was obvious there was something she didn't want to tell him and the longer her silence lasted, the harder it was for him to suppress his rising panic.

He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Please, I need to know what happened."

Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I was in a hurry to find you. I had no idea how wide these woods were and I thought I would be able to find you before moonrise. I was wrong. You found me first, but it was after moonrise."

"I attacked you." He felt one of his greatest fears come true, he had attacked the one person he cared about the most. Unconsciously he let go of her hand, disgusted at himself. _She probably really hates me now._

"Yes, but Firenze reached us before you could do harm me and he managed to chase you away. That's why you're so severely wounded, he had to hit you hard to get you off of me."

A heavy silence fell between them.

Remus was the first to speak again, looking at his hands, because he didn't dare to look Tonks in the eye, he didn't want to see the contempt that would probably be there. _I don't think I can take that from her._ "I'm so sorry, Tonks. You must really hate me now…"

Tonks cut him off with a sharp voice. "Stop that, Remus, of course I don't hate you. I knew what you were a long time before this and what happened is my fault. I knew it was a full moon that night and I knew you were here. I'm really sorry to put us through this, but nothing happened, so let us leave it behind us, all right?"

Remus looked up, incredulously. "Nothing happened? I attacked you, you could have been killed, and you would be, if it wasn't for Firenze. How can you say nothing happened? Do you see now why it is better I stay away from other people?"

Tonks shook her head. "As far as me is concerned, nothing did happen. Let's just forget this and move on. We should return to London as soon as possible, we've got only two days left. Do you feel ready to travel?"

Remus stared at the young woman with her now striking green eyes (to match her green hair). _She still wants me to go with her, even after I attacked her? _He shook his head.

"I'm not going with you, I think it is for the best if I stay here."

"But, Remus, what about Harry?" _And what about me?_ Tonks thought, but she didn't say that.

Remus looked away, before answering. "I have a small vial here somewhere. You can fill it with my blood and put a conservation charm on it."

"So, that's it then. I finally find you after all these years, and you're going to just send me back?"

He didn't look at her, but the hurt was obvious in her voice alone. _I can't do this, Nymphadora, if only you could understand. I wish I could go with you and take you in my arms and never let you go. But most of all, I want you to be safe, and you are not safe if you are with me. And I wish I could explain that to you._ But he couldn't, so he only repeated, "It's for the best."

They sat in silence for a long while. Remus turned away from Tonks and Tonks staring holes in his back. The sun had come up and rays of light where cheerfully illuminating the insides of the hut, but they couldn't break through the heavy and sombre atmosphere that had fallen there.

Finally, Tonks stood up and started rummaging through the hut. With some effort, Remus managed to get up too and carefully made his way to his only closet, pulled open a certain drawer and took out a small vial. He silently returned to his bed and Tonks silently approached him, pulled her wand and made a small cut with it in his left arm, filled the vial with his blood, spoke a conservation charm on the vial and healed the cut. It all happened in perfect silence, without any word was spoken.

When Tonks was sure she had put the vial safely away, with enough protection charms on it so it wouldn't break, no matter how many times she would fall or let it drop, she turned back to Remus. She tried to make eye contact with him, but he avoided her gaze. Tonks sighed. "Well then. Goodbye Remus."

He only nodded in answer and with a final glance at him, she turned and left his hut. Just before she exited, he threw his own final glance at her, quickly trying to memorize again every little detail about her.

_I'm sorry, Nymphadora, but it really is best like this. _He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. _I only wish doing the right thing didn't hurt this much._

000

_Please review…_

Thanks to all my reviewers.


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I still own nothing and for some reason, dreaming doesn't get me anywhere…

Blood of a werewolf

**Chapter 8: Epilogue**

It had been three weeks since Nymphadora Tonks had left Remus' hut in Romania. Three long and excruciatingly slowly passing weeks.

All this time, Remus had silently been hoping she would come back. He had been thinking a lot about things he could say to her. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to tell her how he felt about her, he wanted to kiss her…

Remus shook his head.

_I know I wouldn't do it, no matter how much I want to, I'm too frightened of being rejected and I would probably push her away again. Firenze was right, I've been hiding from Tonks too. But even then did she find me and I made her go away. _

The first days after she had left, he had stayed close to the hut, claiming to himself it would be best not to wander too far, after all, his arm and ribs still needed to be handled carefully, but as the days went by, he couldn't keep denying the fact he was actually hoping for Tonks to turn up again and he didn't want to miss her if she did.

But she never came, and after three weeks, he had started to give up. _She won't come and it's my own fault. First I attack her, but she doesn't seem to hate me for it and instead of being grateful, I completely push her away. Why would she come back when I've been such a complete git? _

He tried to console himself with the knowledge that he had done the right thing, that she was better off without him. But oddly enough, instead of comforting him, it only hurt him more. Then herealised the sound of her voice when he had told her he wouldn't come with her and he knew he had hurt her.It made him wonder if, instead of right, he had done something very stupid. If maybe, just maybe, it was possible Tonks could want more from him than friendship.

_I shouldn't think like this, it doesn't really matter anyway. _

Everything had gone back to what it had been for the last five years. _And that's the way it should be._

It was a warm summer day, and Remus had made a little tour through the forest, taking a walk and assembling berries and other food. It was the first day since Tonks had left that he had wandered this far away from his hut, trying not to think about what had happened three weeks ago, but no matter how hard he tried, the same thoughts kept invading his mind.

_I really have to stop thinking about her, before I go crazy. _

He finally reached the clearing where his hut was situated, stopped near the little stream to drink a little bit and then turned to approach his hut.

As he approached the building, however, something caught his eye. The door that gave entrance to his home stood ajar and he was sure he had closed it carefully before he left.

He stopped for a moment, staring at it, before he realised what this meant. Someone else had been here, and was maybe still here.

_Tonks? Could it be?_

He didn't know who else it could be, except from Tonks, the only other who knew where he lived was Firenze, and Remus was sure the centaur wouldn't enter the hut.

Remus walked quickly to the door and pushed it, revealing the only room of his little home. He was ready to call her name, but stopped when he saw who was inside.

Instead of the Metamorphmagus, a young man was standing in the middle of his hut. He had messy black hair, glasses, striking green eyes and a scar. Remus stared for a moment, before he had recovered enough to speak. "Harry?"

Harry Potter smiled back at the werewolf. "Remus, it's good to see you again. I've been wondering where you were."

Remus didn't know what to say. How did Harry get here? Tonks must have told him.

Harry shifted uncomfortably, before answering Remus' unasked question. "I wanted to see for myself you were here and Tonks made me a portkey."

"It's good to see you too, Harry." _It's really good to see you, I never realised how much I actually missed him. _During the one year he had been teaching James' son, it had seemed to Remus he had gotten a part of James himself back and at the same time Harry was the closest thing to a son, or at least a nephew, to him he had ever had.

"I also wanted to thank you, Remus, for saving my life. The doctors explained to me, without your blood, I wouldn't have survived."

"You don't have to thank me, Harry. Tonks deserves all credits, she has been through a lot of trouble to find me and save you."

"Yes, but I doubt you realise just how much she has gone through."

Remus frowned and Harry continued quickly. "We have both been searching for you for years, Remus. Tonks spent every free moment of her time for the last two years looking for you. She told me what happened when she was here, how you pushed her away."

Remus cut him off. "Keep out of this, what's happened between Tonks and me is none of your business, Harry."

Harry nodded. "I know, but I care a lot about the both of you and I only wanted to let you know that you really hurt her feelings, even though she will never admit it."

"I didn't mean to."

"If you ever decide to come back home, you're always welcome at my place and I daresay at Tonks' too. Please think about it."

Remus and Harry stared at each other for a moment.

Finally, Remus answered. "I'll think about it."

Harry nodded. "I have to go now. I hope to see you again, Remus." He walked passed Remus and left the hut quietly before retrieving an old ribbon from his pocket and portkeying away with a tap of his wand. Remus stared at the place where Harry had disappeared for a long time, repeating the conversation in his mind.

'You're always welcome at my place and Tonks' too, please think about it. I hope to see you again.' _I want to, Harry, I really want to. But I don't know if I can. _

But the words gave him new hope. _Maybe, one day. _

_I realise now I'm afraid. Afraid of returning to a world full of rejection. Afraid of what I'm capable of doing to others. Here, in these woods, I cannot harm anyone and there is no one to reject me. I'm safe here, but it's a place without future, without a chance to move forward in life. Here, I was able to put my life at a pause, like pushing the pause button in the middle of a Muggle movie. But as long as I stay here, I will not be able to see it continue. _

_Maybe, one day, I'll be ready to see the next part. I promise I'll come back home then, Harry. _

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_Please review…_

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A/N: As the title of this chapter suggests, this is the end of Blood of a Werewolf. But do not fear, there is more to come, both more adventure and more romance for Tonks and Remus.

Thanks to all my reviewers and thanks for reading this. I hope you will hang on for the next instalment of my Remus/Tonks series (but I'm not going to post anything for a while, to give everyone the chance to read HBP). The next thing will probably be a one-shot and after that, we might see more of the Vastatore's.

To scribhneoir: You made point there about Remus not being worried enough about Harry. I have to admit I totally forgot writing something about that while writing, shame on me (blushes). Hope you can forgive me.

See you all (hopefully) soon.


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